NDC Splits PNC

*Throws alliance with CPP ajar

snippets of very credible information reaching the Gye Nyame Concord indicates that the much talked about alliance between the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC) has hit a snag, sparking a political slugfest among members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PNC.

Close sources at the PNC headquarters told this reporter over the weekend that the PNC as at now is divided into two, along the Chairman of the party, Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan faction, who is said to have a soft heart for an alliance with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and another faction led by Mr John Ndebugre, MP for Zebilla and a party stalwart, not in favour of the CPP alliance.

This paper can confirm that PNC’s NEC will hold a crunch meeting today (Wednesday, 21st May, 2008) to decide on the impasse as to whether to accept or decline the unholy marriage to the CPP engaged by the party’s leadership and follow it up with a scheduled press conference tomorrow (Thursday, 22nd May, 2008) to announce the outcome of the meeting to the public.

This reporter further gathered that when the CPP sent the PNC a letter for a political alliance, the party initially obliged and a meeting was arranged at the plush Golden Tulip Hotel last Tuesday to discuss the modalities.

However, before the meeting on Tuesday; “It was agreed that every party comes with 10 members to do the voting to which we gladly accepted and that the winner of the mini election becomes the presidential candidate while the looser becomes the running-mate”.

A top officer of the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said when the voting exercise was conducted, the CPP candidate, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, had 11 votes whiles Dr Edward Mahama had 9 votes “meaning one of us voted for the CPP but it was a secret ballot so you can’t do nothing”.

He said because the CPP candidate was not in the country at the time, the two parties decided to keep a tight lid over the issue until a formal outdooring of the two had been done.

He stressed that it therefore came as a big surprise to the PNC when barely 24 hours the news was all over the airwaves with Mr David Ampofo, the Communications Director for Dr Ndoum’s campaign team, championing that course knowing very well that was not the agreement.

“His party chairman was the one who stood up and said that it should remain a secret until the formal outdooring. He disobeyed him and he calls himself a professional and a well respected man in the Ghanaian media. Where is his professionalism?”, he posited.

He maintained that the CPP has betrayed the PNC in a similar alliance in the past and that a careful look must be taken at this whole alliance issue, pointing out that the PNC is capable of winning power on its own.

He noted that it is only for the public outcry and those who believe in the ideology of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, that some of them decided to consider the merger to ensure a united front for the December elections.

“As things stand now, the party we might consider in terms of a run-off is the NDC because we all want to see the back of the NPP and I do not think the CPP can do that”, he related.

He said plans and talks were far advanced with the largest opposition party in the country, the NDC for an alliance, but for now nothing has been concretized.

The General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Asiedu Nketia, will not comment on the issue when reached on phone yesterday by this paper for his reaction.

Recounting the past, the PNC guru said they regretted going into an alliance with the NPP and then candidate Kufuor in the 2000 elections to unseat the NDC because after being in power for almost eight years, they (NPP) have ‘failed to deliver’.

According to him, it is therefore not surprising to see in recent times leading party members, especially Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan and General Secretary, Mr Bernard Monar in demonstrations against the NPP over the general hardships in the country.

When reached on phone, the party Chairman, Alhaji Ramadan declined to comment on the issue, saying: “We will know if we are part of the alliance on Thursday”.